Wrzeciono – I won’t be missing it

Moved out of the rented flat on Thursday (could not wait under the last day of my tenure since I had to take a business to trip to Szczecin, reluctantly). To be fair with the landlord, I had informed her I would move out shortly after buying the flat and despite the delay with the remont (though recent impressive progress of works is beyond my expectations, to which I shall dedicate a post next Sunday) I have kept the promise (had no choice since I had found another tenant to make up for the inconvenience I had caused) and moved to my parents’ house for some two months.

If I were to draw up a list advantages my place of residence over the past four months, it would contain three: good transport link with the city centre (35 minutes door-do-door journey to the office was the shortest daily commute in my life), functionality of the very dwelling and price-to-quality trade-off.

Besides, as the landlord came to take over the flat and return the cash bail to me, she confessed she had detested the place and could not have waited to move out of there. The place is certainly depressing. Ursynów on a grey late-November afternoon would sooner lift my spirit than Wrzeciono on a late-spring sunny morning. After residing there for a while I am glad I finally have not purchased a flat in Bielany and opted for Ursynów. At least the dwelling I have bought gives off loads of positive energy and I feel is a place I can call home. In the rented flat in Wrzeciono I felt like in a hotel (probably circumstances which had thrown me there were to blame as well); something was amiss about the place, some barrier I was unable to overcome.

After settling down (the phrasal verb acutally misused) in Wrzeciono I was quite curious to learn more about the history of the district. Back in the 1960 the former fields of Młociny airport were adapted to build a huge estate of tower blocks to workers of the nearby ironworks, Huta Warszawa. The new inhabitants hailed from provincial Poland and resettlement to a dwelling with electricity, running water, gas oven and central heating was an enormous leap forward in terms of standard of living, outshining all drawbacks of flats in Wrzeciono, especially their size (studios of 18 or 24 sqm, one-bedrooms of 37 sqm or two-bedrooms of 49 sqm), lack of balconies, crampy kitchens located in excesses next to front doors.

In 1990s after Huta Warszawa went bust, the place became a hotbed of pathologies and criminality where a decent man would not turn up except for broad daylight. In 2000 the neighbourhood began to get civilised. Representatives of the vilest pathology have either ended up behind bars, boozed themselves to death or died down, several new blocks of flats were built, new residents mixed up with older ones. The city and district authorities have also made a tremendous effort to improve safety in the area and revitalise the grey, old blocks. Still Wrzeciono has the notorious zone of ul. Dorycka (though the area looks out better and better year by year) where venturing even in broad daylight is not a pleasure, but I generally felt safe, even when returning to the dwelling late in the evening or at night.

Maybe living under one roof with my parents to which I have grown disaccustomed is not a dreamt-up scenario, but somewhat preferable to living in the depressing Wrzeciono. Oddly enough, property prices do not reflect general ugliness of the area. Proximity to the underground stations (my walk to Metro Wawrzyszew each morning took me six minutes) and popularity of the relatively cheap flats among tenants have driven flat prices up. Six years ago, when property market hit its 10-year trough, one could easily find a bargain by buying a (run-down) flat for less than PLN 6,000 per sqm. Today a flat in need of comprehensive refurbishment would trade for PLN 2,000 more per sqm, while thoroughly renovated flats have asking prices nearing five digits per sqm. Decently fit-out studios (offering monthly after tax income of ca. PLN 1,000 – 1,200) are priced between PLN 200,000 and 250,000 which translate into net-of-tax (but pre-CAPEX) yield of more than 5%, which somewhat justifies the absurdly high prices.

And to conclude, I believe interest rates should have been jacked up long ago while the benchmark rate ought to run two percentage points above inflation, i.e. at around 4.00% currently.

Wrzeciono – the new neighbourhood

What a sigh of relief. The first weekend not spent looking for a flat to rent or not moving. Formalities after the break-up completed, though lots of other stuff play out in the background (more about it in due course), I have found some time yesterday in the afternoon to stroll around the district and snap some pics.

Actually I was wary of renting a place in Wrzeciono (part of Bielany district). For those less familiar with the history of that housing estate – the blocks of flat, including the one have rented a studio (25 square metres) on the photo taken in 1969 to the right, were erected between 1968 and 1973 for workers of Huta Warszawa and were inhabited by those workers and their families. Needless to say the estate has differed much from the “highbrow” Ursynów…

To the right, council housing blocks by ul. Szegedyńska. Formely, those were two hotele robotnicze, purchased by the Warsaw town hall in 2004 and converted into flats for poor families. Some time ago a hotbed of manifold pathologies now is considered a safer place. A Straż Miejska’s outpost is on the ground floor, besides a modern multimedia library and community centre has been opened just round the corner.

Wrzeciono is full of contrasts. Since distances between buildings on housing estates built in the bleak days of communism were larger, new blocks were squeezed among older ones, therefore each new development borders the old one. On top, the distinctive feature of Wrzeciono are numerous rows of terraced garages. Sadly, many are used as clutter boxes, instead of serving as “homes” for cars. Consequently, finding a place to park a car after 8 p.m. on a working week day is a challenge.

Here, I approach ul. Dorycka, the most  infamous part of Wrzeciono. The spot gained notoriety for taking top positions in criminality statistics, for violence, thefts, vandalism, alcoholism, battles, drug trafficking, etc. To the right, the newly built development, Przy Doryckiej. I presume buyers of flats in there (those buying to meet their own housing needs) have little notion of how awful location it is. To the left, Okrąglak, with the customary shop with alcoholic beverages, open 24 hours a day for locals in need…

Back in late 1990s a prudent citizen would not show up here even in broad daylight. Today, one can feel safe, however while passing by an open-air drinking den, I feared taking out a camera to snap the peculiar hangout. I could only snap typical Pan Heniek and Pan Ziutek who have stocked up in Świat Alkoholi.

Having escaped from the underworld, I crossed ul. Kasprowicza and headed south-west past ul. Nocznickiego. Vicinity of the underground station has spurred a lot of new developments between ul. Nocznickiego and ul. Sokratesa. Seemingly, the location and the neighbourhood take one’s fancy. The catch is that a dual carriageway (extension of Trasa Mostu Północnego) that would join S7 expressway will run just next to tram tracks in a few years. Noise and fumes all day round guaranteed. Hint: check the zoning plans before buying a property!

I stroll towards my place through Wawrzyszew. Stawy Brustmanna are the most marvellous part of Bielany I suppose. The park surrounding two ponds, each with a fountain on the middle of it, has been brilliantly revitalised and are a lovely hangout on summer evenings. Sadly, I shall have little time in the coming weeks to enjoy it.

I get closer to home, from ul. Kasprowicza I spot the chimney of former Huta Warszawa. Their sight is far more breath-taking when they are illuminated by setting sun. They remind of one shot of music video to U2’s one (Berlin version)…

Did I ask too much?

More than a lot?

You gave me nothing

Now it’s all I got…

Bielany - a new place to live

Just for the record - after two weeks of attending castings (finding a flat to rent is not a matter of one day, unless you have no expectations and no price ceiling) on Thursday I have finally been chosen to become a tenant. My new, hopefully temporary, place is somewhere between Wawrzyszew and Młociny underground stations. I have transported nearly all my stuff (the last batch today in the evening) to mere 25 square meters in a ten-storey block built in late 1960s, yet cosy and functionally furnished that will be my dwelling until I find my own flat (have two under negotations, oddly enough one is Flat 3 from that post, partly refurbrished, but put up for sale at the same price. Keep fingers crossed.

Tomorrow the chapter will formally be closed, i.e. the contract for the flat we have rented will be signed over to my ex-gf and our common bank account will finally be closed. Then comes the time to enjoy the freedom. Still too early to take a well-balanced look back, but I am convinced this has been the right the decision.

But before this happens, some snaps from the new neighbourhood (next week).

Cycling season 2018 kicked off

2018 will go down in almanacs of meteorology as another year when the weather made a sudden shift from late winter (it snowed on Easter Monday, 2 April) to full-blown spring (two days later in the afternoon temperature topped +22C). Quite a shock for a body nearly sick of never-ending winter, yet a huge reason to be cheerful. So last balmy Sunday with temperature peaking +23C was a perfect day for a cycling shake-down.

My wish was not to strain my muscles and to cover a distance no longer than 50 kilometres. We chose to take the underground to the northern end of the line (the last carriage of the train was chock full of cyclists and their two-wheel equipment) and from there set off towards Kampinos forests. To the right, our first stop, the Opaleń clearing. It was just past midday, sun was shining strong. Families with children and dogs roamed around, some enjoyed picnics, some made celebrations. Kind of noisy place, yet faraway from fumes and the usual city groan.

The temperature was nearly summer-like, yet the sight of forest reminded it was still very early spring. Fallen leaves had not decomposed, trees had not gone leafy, some plants showed first buds. Today, after nearly two weeks of spring, with over +20C day-time highs (+26C on 9 April 2018 is a rarity as for the first decade of April) spring is in overdrive, though some precipitation would definitely come in useful.

It was half past two in the afternoon. Rest assured, I was not staring at the sun, just holding my smartphone to catch the sun shining through leafless trees. We were sitting on an alley-side bench, basking in the sun and filling our stomachs up with oranges and apples. A lovely place to hide away from the daily grind, awaiting the next morning in the corpo-world.

After meandering through the forest and having spotted we had ridden just less than 30 kilometres, we decided to take a detour via Łomianki and Las Młociński. Here, the suburb north-west of Warsaw. Streets were nearly empty, the traffic was sparse, as this was another trade-free Sunday. Suburbs are a lovely place to live in, yet most have one significant drawback, namely daily commutes to work or school might be a nuisance, if decent transport links do not exist. By saying “decent” I mean railways, since buses will get stuck in traffic jams along with cars, while being car-dependent is not a solution, especially if family memebrs need to rely on a driver. Needless to say, properties in well-connected suburbs are priced to reflect the quick commutes to the city centre.

We reached Metro Młociny and still had less than 40 kilometres behind us, so we resolved to ride along ul. Kasprowicza, through Stare Bielany. As we waited for traffic light to turn green, I snapped the hosuing block, built in 1950s when this part of Warsaw was developed. Old-style, heavy stalinist edifice gives off the climate of this estate built for industrial workers. In the vicinity of that place one can spot marvellous terraced houses, making up a more exclusive part of the district. Worth mentioning this part of Warsaw used to have poor transport links to the city centre until the last section of underground line was opened in 2008.

On Monday I actually felt the first ride, but not as I had expected in my thighs or in my backside, but in my arms and down my neck. Yet they were sore just for a few hours and then the aches eased up.

This weekend the weather was also perfect. Made the most of it by cleaning my car and my father’s car and helping my parents with garden works (yesterday) and cycling (today). Hope the next whiff of winter is no earlier than in November 2018.